A Faithful Dog

    More than seven hundred years ago, the Prince of Wales had a very big and brave dog called Gelert.

    One day the Prince wanted to go hunting(打猎) with his men. He told his dog to stay at home and look after his baby son. The baby was in a wooden cradle(摇篮), which was like a small bed.

    When the Prince came back from hunting, Gelert ran out to meet his master. He wagged his tail and jumped up to put his paws(爪子) on the Prince's chest. Then the Prince saw the blood(血) on Gelert's jaws(下巴) and head.

    "What have you done?" the Prince said. He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son. The cradle was lying on its side on the floor. The clothes were torn and there was blood on them.

    "So you have killed my son?" the Prince said angrily. "You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword(剑) and killed the dog. Just as Gelert was dying, he managed ( 设法 ) to bark. Then the Prince heard a baby call to the dog. The Prince ran out of the house and saw his son lying on the ground unhurt (没受伤). Near him was a dead wolf. Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended(保卫) the baby and killed the wolf.

    The Prince ran back into the house but it was too late. Gelert was dead. The Prince was very sad indeed. Tears ran down his face when he realized he had killed his faithful friend. The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried(埋葬) him there. After this, the Prince never smiled again. Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and stood by the dog's grave for a few minutes.

    If you go to Mount Snowdon in Wales, people will show you where Gelert is buried. There is a sign by his grave. It reminds people of a brave and faithful dog.

    It was Sunday morning. A butcher（屠夫） heard the doorbell and thought it must be a customer. But he was surprised to see that a dog was coming into his shop. The dog had $10 and a note in its mouth. The butcher took the note and read it. It said, "10 pork chops（排骨）, please." So the butcher took the money and put a bag of chops in the dog's mouth.

    Then he quickly closed the shop because he decided to follow the dog. He found the dog on the street. The dog was waiting for a green light. Then the dog walked across the road. The dog went to a bus stop. When a bus arrived, the dog checked the number and then got on the bus

    After a while, the dog stood up on his back paws（爪子） to push the "stop" button（按钮）.The bus stopped and the dog got off. Then the butcher followed it to get off the bus.

    The dog ran to a house and dropped the bag in front of the front door. It then began to beat its head against the front door. After a while, a big man opened the door and began shouting at the dog. The butcher ran up and shouted at the man, "What are you doing? Your dog is a genius（天才）."

    The owner of the dog said, "Genius? No way! I always tell him to take the keys when he goes to the stores. But he never listens to me! "

Nina felt nervous this morning. She couldn't believe that she decided to tryout for a talent show. She loved to sing but she disliked singing in front of other people. 

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door of the theater and went inside. 

The room was filled with laughing children. Nina saw Luz, James and others from her class. The bright, sunny room left her no place to hide. A few teachers sat on chairs. They waited for the children to become quiet. 

"Hi, Nina!" Luz called out. "I didn't think you would tryout. You are so timid(胆怯的) in front of people. "

"That's not true, " Nina said. "I'm not shy at all. "

"Yeah, right, " Luz chuckled(轻声地笑) and ran off to find a seat. 

One by one the students got up on the stage(舞台) and did their acts. 

"Nina Martinez!" a voice called out. It was Mrs. Brent, the music teacher. Nina rose from her chair. She felt small as she walked to the huge, empty stage. Her face was hot and her shaking hands were as cold as ice. 

"I-I-" Nina began, and then stopped. "I can't, " she said softly. 

"Close your eyes, " said Mrs. Brent gently. "Forget about everyone else. Just sing. "

Nina felt silly, but she gave it a try. She closed her eyes and raised her voice and sang out. Her hands stopped shaking. 

The song was so nice that everybody enjoyed it. 

Nina heard Mrs. Brent clap (鼓掌) loudly at the end of her song. "That's the first time I have really heard your voice, " she said. "You are in the show!"

Nina let out a big sigh(叹息) and smiled happily. 

Sarah is my best friend. We always go to school together{#blank#}1{#/blank#}we live close to other. And also，it's great to stay with Sarah. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}？Here are the reasons（原因）.

First，Sarah is a{#blank#}3{#/blank#}（friend）girl. Everyone in our class would like{#blank#}4{#/blank#}（make）friends with her. Second，Sarah is very funny. She always{#blank#}5{#/blank#}（tell）some interesting stories to me. I never feel bored when I am with{#blank#}6{#/blank#}（she）. Third，Sarah is very helpful. She is like{#blank#}7{#/blank#}elder sister to me. She knows me very well. When I'm sad，she always tries to make me happy. Sarah is very clever，so she often helps me{#blank#}8{#/blank#}my studies. Sarah and I have the same{#blank#}9{#/blank#}（hobby）——swimming and reading. Sarah is also good at{#blank#}10{#/blank#}（play）tennis，so we often play it together.

All in all，Sarah is the best friend that I've made.

These delicious dim sum are made by Wu Yang,a pastry chef(糕点师)from Liaoning province. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(traditional),Chinese puff pastries are made in simple forms;Wu,however,turns these pastries{#blank#}2{#/blank#}three-dimensional sculptures(三 维雕塑) .

"It took several tries to finally create the lion's head.At first,the two layers of eyelashes(睫毛)were {#blank#}3{#/blank#}same size,but I later made the second layer smaller and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (thin)to make it stand out."

Wu's passion for dough sculptures started more than a decade ago.At  first,he found it {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(difficulty)to make dough sculptures because of no basic training in art.To solve this,Wu observed people carefully and also looked for many art books. By improving {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(he)own art education,the pastry Wu made slowly became more lifelike.

Pastry lovers nationwide have learned to make such pieces from Wu,who {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(teach)more than h000 students.He likes to share his techniques and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}n ought)about puff pastries,and he is happy to see students introducing his creations at competitions.

"I used to focus on the techniques, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} now I think more about ways to combine traditional Chinese culture with  puff pastries,"Wu told China Daily,adding that it is good to see more young people becoming {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(interest)in Chinese pastries.